Environment Task Force Newsletter
Ohio State University Extension
Spring, 1997, v1 #1

Earth Day: Past, Present and Future

By Kyle Sharp, Associate Editor, Communications and Technology

"Our goal is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human creatures and for all other living creatures. An environment without ugliness, without ghettos, without discrimination, without hunger, without poverty, without war."

The words of then Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson during the first Earth Day 26 years ago are ones that could be heard at any Earth Day gathering today.

Nelson felt strongly about preserving the environment and thought environmental issues such as overpopulation, scarce resources and pollution should be higher political and social priorities. But not being a radical, he did not like the confrontations and violence that marked protests against the Vietnam War and sought a more civil and educational way to draw people's attention to environmental concerns.

The result was a day of "teach-ins" devoted to lectures, rallies, petitions and peace on April 22, 1970. A sudden media frenzy and genuine concern for the environment got the country's attention, and around 20 million Americans took part in the events. It became the largest rally of the '60s and '70s era of big demonstrations.

Some angry students performed guerrilla theater -- wearing gas masks, burying cars and pouring oil in the reflecting pool at the Standard Oil Building in San Fransisco. But, most collected tons of litter along roadsides and streams, attended teach-ins at 1,500 colleges and 10,000 schools, and politely listened to speeches by environmental leaders like Nelson.

Forty-two state legislators passed Earth Day resolutions, the U.S. Department of the Interior sent 500 employees to lead teach-ins, and President Richard Nixon sent word through an aide that this "should be more than a one-day event -- (it) should be the beginning of a new and sustained effort."

At that time, Nelson said, "Earth Day may be a turning point in American history. It may be the birth date of a new American ethic that rejects the frontier philosophy that the continent was put here for our plunder and accepts the idea that even urbanized, affluent, mobile societies are interdependent -- with the fragile, life-sustaining systems of the air, the water, the land."

Though Earth Day received little recognition for 10 years following the first event, it was revived in 1980, drawing 3 million people. In 1990 it became an annual occurrence after some 200 million people from 140 countries took part in what The New York Times called "the largest grassroots demonstration in history."

The way Earth Day is approached now is different than it was during the first gathering, but the core issues are still the same, said Joe Heimlich, Ohio State University environmental specialist.

Population, water and air quality, distribution of people and resources, and energy use are still the core issues, but the day has become more of a celebration of the environment with awareness of environmental issues as its main purpose, rather than action, Heimlich said.

The earth-conscious years following the first Earth Day have made a difference, but more action is needed. For example, increased industrial efficiencies and increased auto mileage per gallon have lowered America's per person energy usage, but population pressure raised the nation's total energy use from 66.4 quadrillion Btu in 1970 to about 83 quadrillion Btu in 1995.

"Earth Day is in danger of becoming just another environmental awareness festival," Heimlich said. "When it has ties to activism -- starting a recycling program, cleaning up litter, and actually doing something that impacts the community-- is when it's very positive."

Earth Day, now usually recognized on the Saturday closest to April 22, is in the middle of the spring clean up period, which is good timing for the beginning of a local clean up effort or other activity. If the day helps people adopt practices that improve the environment, it can make a difference, Heimlich said.